The Beauty of Darkness! It's almost here! And before I hit the road and the prepub craziness turns to a whirlwind of fun chaos, I wanted to take a rare quiet moment to thank you. Thank YOU the readers.

This journey began back in the fall of 2013 when the arc of The Kiss of Deception came out. The Kiss of what? It was a brand new trilogy that few had heard of. But a few advanced readers read it, embraced Lia's story, and spread the word (thank you!) From there a few more read it, and then a few more. You went on this journey with us. Yes, and with Rafe and Kaden too. By the time The Heart of Betrayal came out, there was an army of you rooting for this trio, and you spread the word even more!Along the way, you tweeted, blogged, and instagrammed, sharing your thoughts with me and others. I giggled and laughed (the gifs!), admired your art and graphics, and loved your thoughts and reactions.

Now The Beauty of Darkness is almost here, and you are continuing to share and spread the word to new readers, for which I will forever be grateful.

THANK YOU to all for going on this journey with Lia--and me. One last leg to go!

Thank you too, for the many who have preordered this final book. It makes a huge difference and means the world to me. Thank you so much.

I leave on tour soon. I hope I'm coming to a town near you and we'll get to meet! If not, I hope at some point in the future I will make it to your hometown!

The final installment of The Remnant Chronicles is almost here! To celebrate the final book,The Beauty of Darkness, I wanted to have a fun, creative giveaway. Do you like to draw or doodle? Show me your creative brain! It is all about Lia's kavah . . .

Remember this?

"The others waited in silence for my response. I resisted drawing in a breath. I wouldn't give my mother that satisfaction, but I couldn't deny that my wedding kavah was exquisite. The ugly crest of the Kingdom of Dalbreck had been made startlingly beautiful, the snarling lion tamed on my back, the intricate designs gracefully hemming in his claws."--Page 7 The Kiss of Deception

<------One of my doodled interpretations

First off, I want to clarify. . . this is not Lia's "official" kavah.
The Remnant Chronicles are stories, and stories are made up of words that create images, so whatever image you imagined, IS what her kavah looks like. I don't own the words, I just put them down. (This applies to book covers too! They are not the final say on what a character looks like.) So, back to the kavah. Here's what The Kiss of Deception tells us about it:

There was a lion claw.

There was a vine.

It was made with a henna dye

Lia thought it was beautiful

That's it.

So I doodled around and this was one possible way I thought the kavah might look--a little snip of grapevines and a lion claw. Lia's kavah was supposed to be temporary, lasting only a few weeks, but in Lia's case something went wrong (or maybe right?) and some of it became permanent. On my Pinterest page I have a bulletin board of henna body art and designs where you can see how elaborate they can be. Maybe these pictures will help spark some of your creative energy.

Now for the giveaway part!What do you have to do to enter? This:1) Draw a kavah!It's easy! There's a "blank" kavah below that you can add your own designs to (a fine point Sharpie works great. Just print the blank out on a piece of paper and have at it!) OR you can start from scratch. Interpret Lia's kavah for yourself. From badass to sweet, I'd love to see what you come up with!2) Post a picture of your kavah creation on Twitter, Instagram, or Tumblr
3) INCLUDE this hashtag in your tweet or post: #RemnantChronicles (This is a must!)4) Follow instructions on Rafflecopter entry below. Leave a comment.(edited to add: You don't have to wait to do this step last--you can do it now.)
The giveaway ends at midnight on 7/20/16

That's it! And yes, it is open internationally!

THREE random winners will get:
1) A signed and personalized hardcover ofThe Beauty of Darkness
2) A Beauty of Darkness heart-shaped fan! (for my amazing fans)
3) A Remnant Chronicles Charm. Hang it from your purse, backpack, zipper, belt loop--your pony tail! Whatever suits you! Inside the little antique brass book it says, "In the farthest corner, I will find you."
4) Signed bookmarks from all three books.
5)A mini poster of the gorgeous map! (and the reverse side is the cover of The Beauty of Darkness)

And last but not least, the "blank" kavah I mentioned is below.
Have fun with this! Doodle your heart out! It is quite relaxing.
Or ditch the blank and create something entirely new!
I can't wait to see what you come up with! Neither can Lia!
XO

2015 was a wild, jam-packed year.
It left me tired, and breathless, and ever so grateful.
And as 2015 was winding down I was finally able to finish the draft of THE BEAUTY OF DARKNESS, Book 3 of The Remnant Chronicles! Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Milestone achieved!
Here's a Flipagram (My first one! Are you on Flipagram?) which gives you a quick glimpse of 2015--and what it's like writing a first draft while a whole LOT of other stuff is going on!
Deep. Breath.
THANK YOU to all of you who helped make 2015 an amazing year. I loved that I got to meet so many new fans, and reconnect with old ones! And continued thanks for your blogs, tweets, instagrams, book tubes, and all the ways you spread the word about The Remnant Chronicles and embraced Lia, Rafe, and Kaden's world. YOU are the best.

And now 2016 is starting out with a bang!
MORRIGHAN, my e-novella which is a prequel to The Remnant Chronicles, is out on January 12!!! I'm very excited! It's an ebook and there are lots of places where you can preorder and download it. My publisher has more information HEREon the remnantchronicles.com site.

I hope you love this tale the way I do. It started out as a short story, but then the characters of Morrighan and Jafir took hold of my heart, and a hundred pages later I was still engrossed in their world and lives. I learned their secrets, their hopes, and their sorrows even as I wrote the story. It was both heartbreaking and a joy to watch it unfold.

MORRIGHAN, is about the girl Morrighan, who is the namesake of Lia's kingdom, and also about Jafir, a boy from a clan of scavengers, two young people trying to survive on their own terms in a world that has been devastated by disaster. When they meet, history is changed forever, both for them and all the kingdoms of the Remnant yet to come.

Before borders were drawn, before treaties were signed,
before wars were waged anew,
before the great kingdoms of the Remnant were even born
and the world of old was only a hazy slate of memory told in story and legend,
a girl and her family fought to survive. And that girl’s name was Morrighan.
​

So to celebrate a new year and two new books on the horizon, I think it's time for a giveaway! Don't you?
Enter for a chance to win one prize package that includes:One signed paperback of
​The Kiss of Deception
One signed map/poster
Remnant Chronicles Stickers

First off, THIS:It was announced on Thursday thatThe Adoration of Jenna Fox is coming to the BIG SCREEN! I am ecstatic! And there's already an amazing script written by the equally amazing, Garry Williams. You can get the scoop here at Deadline Hollywood, and the full press release from Dolphin Entertainment who is making the film!Hooray!!!

AND . . . drumroll . . .

The cover for the final book in The Remnant Chronicles has been unveiled! Oh, my aching heart.I LOVE it.I hope you do too!#TeamLia all the way!

The Beauty of Darkness will be rolling your way August 2, 2016!

And last but not least,I just found out thatThe Kiss of Deception was voted a YALSA Teens' Top Ten Title.27,000 readers casted votes!Wow.I'm absolutely thrilled that TKOD was included with so many amazing books. THANK YOU to all the readers who voted!!

So . . . to all the fans who blogged, shouted, tweeted, shared, and spread the news in all possible ways--and of course read The Kiss of Deception and The Heart of Betrayal--YOU made it happen!THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And THANK YOU to my amazing publisher who made this book so beautiful and touchable and sent me out on tour to meet face to face so many awesome fans, booksellers, and librarians. It was so much fun to talk with you and hear your thoughts (and hunches, hopes, and guesses) on Lia, Rafe, Kaden, and the Remnant world!

And special THANKS to these bloggers who just hosted my blog tour! Many of them still have giveaways going on, so go visit their sites--and learn some insights too!

Here I come! And my fingers are majorly crossed that I get to see YOU! 14 events!
12 cities!
1 excited author!
I'm hitting the road to celebrate the June 2nd paperback publication of The Kiss of Deception, and also to celebrate The Heart of Betrayal which will be here on July 7!

Lots of fun, possibly some secret spillage, awesome YA authors and bloggers, and there will be some cool exclusive REMNANT WORLD swag to be had only at these events! Plus . . .

. . . there will also be a drawing at each stop on the tour and ONE lucky attendee will win this custom designed charm made just for The Remnant Chronicles world! It's about five inches long, and let me tell you, it's gorgeous. I'm hanging mine from a belt loop, or maybe a necklace--or maybe both!

While on tour, I'll be explaining the symbolism behind the elements in this "remembrance chain," specifically how it plays out in The Heart of Betrayal.

So . . . *drumroll* to help spread the word and kick off the tour, I am giving away one of these beautiful charms here, along with a signed paperback of The Kiss of Deception! All you have to do to enter for a chance to win is:
1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. Follow me on Twitter and share the tweet in the Rafflecopter entry form below.

The release of The Heart of Betrayal is getting closer and I wanted to take a moment to send bouquets of gratitude and enormous thanks to readers and bloggers who have been spreading the word! You are the best! I loved hearing your thoughts--and watching your gifs : )"One hell of a thrill ride. I am already dying for the next book!"--Starry-Eyed Jen, a review in gifs

"I about died reading this book. It was everything I wanted it to be plus so much more. I wasn't sure how she was to exceed the first book but have no fear, she does it."--Jessica Reigle, Step into Fiction"High stakes action . . . She's a bad ass heroine, and it's an absolute treat to watch her grieve and grow."--Christina Reads YA"The world building is beautiful A book that makes you think . . . I HIGHLY recommend this series."--Bang Bang Book Blog"Packed with twists and turns, and the intrigues and games played for survival makes for a fast paced book . . . a fantastic read and I can't wait for the next book!!"--Books Minority"I loved her backbone. If you love a fantasy story with a heroine that only grows stronger throughout the books, then you should start this series!"--Bibliophilia

Thank you all again for reading and sharing. As I get more blog reviews I will share them!

I'm doing a little twirl around my kitchen (maybe a big twirl)The Kiss of Deception just got its third *starred* review! This one is from School Library Journal. Here's a little snip:"Pearson, author of the popular “Jenna Fox Chronicles” (Holt), has created the first in a marvelous new fantasy series that is sure to find an audience with devotees of Suzanne Collins’s “The Hunger Games” and John Flanagan’s “Ranger’s Apprentice” books . . . Romance, adventure, mysticism—this book has it all."I am so, SO grateful for all the readers who have read this book before publication and embraced Lia and her world. And spread the word! THANK YOU!And now more news . . . My website is updated and you can get a little glimpse of some of the "goodies" that will be coming for The Remnant Chronicles over the next few weeks on THIS PAGEWoot! Lots of fun stuff to come!XO

Whew! So much fun stuff going on as the pub date for The Kiss of Deception draws near! More on that soon, but first I want to thank all the bloggers and tweeters who have been reading TKOD and spreading the word. Here are more thoughts from those who have read and shared The Kiss of Deception :Reading with ABC - "I have no words to describe how much I love this book. Hands down one of my favourite high fantasy romances of all time."Life and Lemons - "The characters are amazing."Part of That World - "It was an enchanting, totally engrossing novel with strong characters, a crazy twisted plot, and an ending that will leave you aching for the sequel."Bang Bang Book Blog - "Dang, That was Good!"

Required Reading - "The whole genius of The Kiss of Deception is that Mary E. Pearson leads you through this complex plot and world with revelation after revelation. It's truly an exciting ride that you have to experience yourself! I implore you- come July, PLEASE read this book."Feed Your Fiction Addiction - "I love it when the lines between the heroes and the villains in a book are blurry . . . an amazing fantasy novel that I won't be forgetting for quite some time!" Thanks to ALL for reading and sharing! And in other news . . .Right now on my Tumblr there is an exclusive ARC giveaway that lasts through this Friday. So if you are on Tumblr, check it out!More news coming very soon!XO

More reviews and shout outs from AWESOME bloggers! Booknut 101 - "Move aside Daenerys Targaryen...a new badass princess is coming!" Cuddlebuggery - "Lia is the coolest MC to grace the high fantasy scene. I would marry this book, if I could. "Jenna Does Books - "Epic journey! The writing is gorgeous--and, at times, even humorous."Radiant Lit - "Unique and truly a breath of fresh air. I can't wait for the next book."Bubble Bath Books - "This book. Is. Magic. Everything I am looking for in a YA Fantasy novel.Practically perfect in every way."Edgy Inspirational Romance - "I smiled (and quite possibly let out a squeal of giddiness) because it was totally AWESOMENESS!"Fashion Meets Fiction - A fun fashion collection for The Kiss of Deception.Belle of the Literati- "The heroine is one to root for and as fierce as hell. RSVP early to . . . "Thank you all SOOOOO much for sharing the excitement and spreading the word!I loved reading these fun and very creative reviews!Most of these were sent to me by bloggers via twitter. If I missed yours, tweet me!